FCC makes E911 decision

As expected, FCC ruled 4-0 in favor of enforcing the requirement of E911 capabilities of VoIP providers. All service providers will be required to provide the same emergency calling services as those provided by traditional POTS.

The FCC ruling will come into effect 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Rough estimates are - it would take about 30-45 days to publish this. So, I guess VoIP providers have about 4 months to comply.

E911 capability requires providers to have the following provisions: Any emergency call must be routed to a user's local E911 operations center. The system must also provide the dispatcher with a callback number and its location. Unlike POTS, with VoIP services, a call can originate from anywhere on the Internet. Hence, there is no way (reliable enough) to determine the exact location of the caller. Therefore, providers will be required to have a system whereby users can update their location and callback numbers.

Btw, the order does not apply to Internet based service providers. Examples being Skype, YIM etc which provide VoIP in addition to instant messaging or gaming etc.